Diabetes mellitus (“diabetes”) is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Patients suffering from diabetes have metabolism disorder(s) and abnormally elevated blood sugar levels (i.e., hyperglycemia), which results from low levels of insulin production.
Beta cells found in the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas (“pancreatic islet β cells) produce insulin. In Type I and (to a lesser extent) Type II diabetes, a deficiency in insulin production can be attributed to inadequate mass of functional insulin-producing islet cells. The cause of this cell loss may be viral, chemical, and/or autoimmune attack and destruction of the cells.
Given this etiology, attempts have been made to reverse or prevent the onset of diabetes by replenishing the lost or damages cells with donor pancreatic cells. While cell-based therapies of this sort have shown promise, the supply of pancreatic cells, particularly human pancreatic cells, is in perpetual short supply, both in terms of quantity and quality, for research and/or transplantation. The present invention provides a method to increase this short supply, in part, by enabling the use of progenitor cells from any tissue, including non-pancreatic tissue, to arrive at insulin-producing pancreatic cells.